Cops: Man who beat up trooper tied to robberies

The Bay Shore man who allegedly fled a traffic stop in Islip on Sunday and beat up a state trooper and a motorcyclist has been charged in two attempted robberies that occurred nearly two years ago, according to court documents.

In addition to several charges related to a chase and altercations on Sunday, officials said Allen Nelson Jr., 49, also tried to rob a Suffolk gas station and a restaurant in September 2008. In one of those attempts, Nelson was caught on video striking a gas station attendant with part of a gun, officials said.

A New York State trooper on an anti-speeding patrol Sunday morning tried to pull over a red 2009 Hyundai Sonata that was speeding, officials said. Nelson raced away and led the trooper on a five-minute, eight-mile high-speed pursuit that ended with the Sonata blowing a tire in Bay Shore. Nelson then allegedly punched the officer several times in the face. The officer then opened fire, striking Nelson in the left shoulder. Nelson then ran to a nearby street and attacked a motorcyclist in an attempt to take control of the vehicle before responding officers subdued and arrested him, police said.

At Nelson's arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip Monday, a Suffolk assistant district attorney said Nelson "pistol whipped" a store clerk during a previous robbery attempt. Suffolk district attorney spokesman Robert Clifford said that after his arrest, Nelson identified himself as the man in a surveillance video showing two men entering a Islip Terrace gas station and displaying a gun. An attendant grabbed the gun, which broke in half, and the man struck him in the head with a piece of the weapon before both fled, Clifford said. The attendant required hospitalization.

In the other alleged incident on the same night in 2008, Joseph Reale, the owner of Popei's, a Sayville seafood restaurant, said a man wearing a hoodie walked in, pulled out a long-barreled revolver and demanded cash. The man quickly fled without any proceeds.

Nelson was also charged with the theft of two kiteboards from an Oak Beach home on Sunday. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges and was held on $112,500 bail. A Suffolk district court judge ordered Nelson to continue to receive medical care while in jail.